Horological Curiosities: Armin Strom
Let’s Dual
In a series about the weird and wonderful you can’t pass up the Armin Strom Dual Time Resonance Sapphire for weirdness. Its striking oval shape is in service of two vertically stacked, independent movements, eschewing the standard and humdrum side-by-side movement architecture. They weren’t joking around with the Dual Time Resonance in their naming. To make this happen they use a patented Resonance Clutch Spring.
The sapphire crystal watch case components weren’t easy to achieve for this large 59mm long case. The pieces are milled with diamond coated tools for days from sapphire crystal blocks which were then left for a few days to allow the heat from the machining to cool and spread the tension. After that, the crystal was polished for days to make it crystal clear. This is all in service of allowing the Resonance Clutch Spring technology to sing. The two synchronised coupled oscillators improve accuracy incredibly, as well as conserving vibrational energy. Naturally the inclusion of two movements for accuracy allows for dual time while it’s at it. The independent second time display can also function as a countdown indicator or for tracking elapsed time. Two independent movements mean two independent time displays, one 24-hour indicator, four mainspring barrels, and two conical power reserve indicators.
While at first blush it may be shrugged off as a gimmick of a watch, it’s a showcase of Armin Strom’s dedication to precision, accuracy and pushing the technology of horology forwards. They didn’t make this form because it was easy, they made it because it’s better. “Developing a perpetual calendar or tourbillon would have been far easier than the years we spent calculating and validating the Resonance Clutch Spring; it was uncharted territory,” says Armin Strom technical director Claude Greisler.
For Those the Bell Tolls
Armin Strom wasn’t done doubling things up and trailblazing at the same time – this time with the Masterpiece 2 Minute Repeater Resonance, which we will put in the wonderful camp. It was inspired by Bern’s centuries-old chiming clock tower. There’s just something poetic about clocks standing the test of time.
It is the world’s first resonance chiming wristwatch with two complications, resonance and minute repeater; two vertically-stacked independent movements; two forms of resonance (oscillators and sound propagation) and two independent mainsprings in one barrel.
Activated by a slider on the left side of the case band, two hand-polished hammers at 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock respectively chime the hours and minutes on two three-dimensionally curved gongs encircling the hour/minute subdial. The case is in Grade 5 titanium for optimal sound transmission (and comfort), and its 47.7mm diameter allows for a generous volume for the sound to propagate from. The hammers are visually and technically balanced by the two independent regulators – one for each of the two movements – at 5 o’clock and 7 o’clock.
Showcased between the two oscillating balances is Armin Strom’s Resonance Clutch Spring which was perfected in their Dual Time Resonance on the other page. Only ten pieces were made in celebration of Armin Strom’s 10th anniversary.